International Astronautical Congress 2017 - From Big Data To On Orbit Servicing

TheInternational Astronautical Congress 2017 (IAC 2017) will be held in Adelaide, Australia, from September 25 to 29, 201,7 and will feature an intense Plenary Program composed of eight plenaries, three highlight lectures as well as two late breaking news spotlights...

On Wednesday, September 27, 2017, from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., Tony Colucci, Vice President of Business Development, Space Systems Loral (SSL), will moderate the 'Next Generation On-Orbit Satellite Servicing and Refueling Programs' panel. Satellite servicing is creating a paradigm-shift in the space industry and could potentially transform in-orbit architectures. It changes the economics of satellite fleet management by providing commercial satellite operators and government agencies with more flexibility in the timing of replacement satellites and will enable a new generation of spacecraft that can be assembled on orbit and can share existing bus resources. The panel will address advances in remote maneuvers, the mechanics of on orbit operations and how these services will increase resilience. The innovative missions that will be discussed will inspire new ways of thinking about both GEO and LEO orbit.

On Thursday, September 28, 2017, from 8:30 to 09:30 a.m., the 'From Up There to Down Here Big Space Data Driving Sustainable Development and Economic Growth on Earth' panel will explore how the dramatically expanding, diverse “big space data” sets from satellite based Earth observations can be leveraged to support global sustainable development and economic growth on Earth and, ultimately, beyond it. Having the best choices for our common future depend on putting space observations to work down here on Earth through efforts to raise living standards, and give more people the opportunity to realize their potential.

This economic growth must be socially and environmentally sustainable, if it is to translate into permanent, rather than transient, benefits. Ultimately, the same sorts of challenges we face in ensuring sustainable development here on Earth will be ones we need to face as we start to scale-up exploration and development, of other planets. They may help us create the necessary conditions for realizing the ideas we have now while creating space for ideas that have not even been thought of yet. This panel will be moderated by Harry Cikanek, Director (acting), Center for Satellite Applications and Research, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.